


The Space Left Behind

by VoraciousRambler



Category: Blood+ (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29725251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoraciousRambler/pseuds/VoraciousRambler
Summary: Saya woke up from her long sleep, but Hagi wasn't there to restore her memories. Can you mourn someone you don't even remember?
Relationships: Hagi/Otonashi Saya
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	The Space Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so hopefully I didn't completely screw it up. I hope you enjoy this little "what if."

Saya Otonashi was wiping down the bar at Omoro when her nieces walked inside, bickering between themselves. As the door swung closed, concealing the last dregs of sunlight, the two nearly identical women seated themselves at the bar directly in front of her. They both appeared to be well below the Okinawan drinking age of twenty, not looking a day over sixteen, but the bar's patrons didn't bat an eye. Kanade and Hibiki had been hanging around Omoro for thirty years, since before they could walk in fact, and all of the bar's regulars knew it. 

Kanade slammed her head onto the bar, sighing, as her sister continued to give her a lecture.

Hibiki narrowed her reddish-brown eyes and said, "Seriously, you can't just run off in the middle of a mission like that! There's a command structure for a reason."

"Oh my god, Hibiki, chill. I was gone for like ten minutes. Besides, I already told you, I saw one heading towards the city. Orders in that situation are crystal clear."

"I know, but you could at least pretend to care about hearing them first. You should have called it in, and you know David will say the same thing at the debriefing tomorrow."

Kanade groaned, lowering crystal-blue eyes to the floor as realization set in. "Shit, you're right. It's just not my-"

"Hey, you two," Saya interrupted with a slight smile. "Can I get you a drink?"

They both grinned, argument forgotten in favor of cold drinks. Hibiki, true to form, ordered a Clementine: a complicated, fussy cocktail with nearly a dozen ingredients. Kanade, meanwhile, ordered the cheapest beer on tap.

As Saya prepared her nieces' drinks, she thought back over the past month of living at Omoro with Kai and the girls.

She had woken up in a hospital bed with absolutely no memories and only basic language skills, disoriented and confused. Kai, waiting in a char next to the bed, had explained that she was his younger sister and that she had been in an accident so she was unlikely to remember much. He had told her about her other remaining family, two nieces that were older than they appeared, and the family business: Omoro. She had stayed in the hospital for a few days, receiving blood transfusions, then had gone home with Kai.

As Saya came to terms with her lack of memories and began asking more specific questions, Kai reluctantly revealed that he and the girls were members of an organization called Red Shield. This sometimes required that they travel for days or weeks at a time on missions. Though she had pressed for more details, Kai had refused to divulge more information about her family or their unusual occupations. He claimed that it was better for her to remember on her own, if at all, and that he didn't want to put too much stress on her. It felt like a cop-out, but Kai had refused to budge on the topic, and Saya had eventually given up asking.

According to Kai, she and her nieces were all older than they looked- "good genes," he'd said with a smirk. While she knew that her nieces had just turned thirty, Kai refused to tell Saya her own exact age. Given how often she was mistaken for a high school student, she assumed she wasn't much older than Kanade or Hibiki. Maybe she had had a considerably older sibling? Saya was unsure, but when asked about the twins' parentage Kai had set his mouth in a grim line and shaken his head.

Saya was frustrated with all the secrets being kept from her, but this impatience was tempered with fear: what if there was something in her past she really was better off without? What could be so bad that her family, brave as they seemed to be, refused to even mention it in her presence?

Some time later, Saya and Kai closed up the pub for the night while Kanade and Hibiki played Gin with some old, beat-up cards in a corner booth. Saya watched her brother as he efficiently flipped chairs onto tables in preparation for mopping, whistling a tune to himself. Her brother was middle-aged, with graying red hair, a goatee, and a face filled with smile lines. He was prone to bouts of random hugging and deep belly laughs, but sometimes she caught him staring into the distance with a wistful expression.

They worked together at an easy pace, and before long the restaurant was closed up and cleaned from top to bottom. Saya grabbed a glass of water, handing Kai a beer from the fridge, and they joined Hibiki and Kanade in their booth. Saya watched the game with interest as Kanade pulled into the "lead", forcing her sister to rack up points as her total stayed low. Hibiki became increasingly frustrated with her sister, eventually throwing her cards at the center of the table.

"You're cheating!"

Kanade smirked, leaning over the table to make deliberate eye contact. "It's not my fault I'm lucky, sis. Don't be such a poor sport."

Her sister just glared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged and turned to Saya. "So, how are you settling in? Enjoying working with Dad?"

Saya smiled. "It's been really nice. I feel like I've got a daily routine, now, and I can even walk the neighborhood without getting too lost."

"Have you-" Kanade interjected, before being cut off by a sharp glare from Kai. Saya, however, took her meaning and answered.

"No, I haven't remembered anything. Sometimes I get these weird feelings of deja vu, like when I boil an egg or hear Kai humming, but I just can't place it."

Kai abruptly changed the subject, launching into one of his rants about food supplier prices. Saya sat back and listened, enjoying the feeling of contentment as her family chatted and ribbed each other. She stayed downstairs with them for a while, then excused herself and made her way upstairs.

As she turned her back to leave, the twins shot concerned glances at Kai. In response, he shook his head slightly and shrugged. The twins dealt Kai into a new game, and the three played on in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saya panted as she rounded a corner, stumbling out of a grimy alley and onto a near-deserted city street. She tripped, landed on her hands and knees on a sidewalk, and pushed herself back to her feet to begin running. As she took off, feet flying, one of her pursuers rounded the corner after her. The monstrous creature had glowing red eyes, leathery skin, and a lumbering gait. It roared, lowered its head, and charged forward on all fours.

She sprinted on, desperate, and cried out to passerby.

“Help! Why won’t someone help me?”

The nearest pedestrian, an old woman dressed in fine clothing and carrying an umbrella, turned toward her. The old woman looked at her with interest, eyes beginning to glow red. Her skin rippled and stretched as something entirely non-human grew within the woman and, with a terrible scream, she burst open to reveal another batlike monster. Saya gasped and threw herself away from the creature, resuming her sprint. 

As she continued to flee from the monsters behind her, Saya began to hear the faint sound of a woman singing. The song was beautiful, haunting even, and Saya found herself humming along before she realized it. She turned, orienting herself on the sound of the song, and ran on. It echoed in her ears, evoking visions of a stone cell and feelings of intense loneliness.

At the next intersection of city streets, she spotted several people in black hooded robes closing in from the sides. They wielded a mix of weapons; an axe here, a scythe there. They moved faster than the inhuman monsters, streaming forward in a blue blur of light, and she found herself matching their speed and becoming a blur herself. As she ran, she called back:

“Why are you chasing me? What did I do?”

The lead figure, a young man with swoopy black hair and carrying a scythe, grit his teeth and spoke.

“You lived when we died. How dare you live on, how dare you have hope, when we were given none!”

“I don’t know who you are! I’m sorry for whatever I did!”

The man just laughed, dashing to catch up with Saya and swinging his scythe at her. She dodged to avoid the blow, but the scythe caught her shirt and cut a shallow path through her side. She hissed with pain, but found her footing again and kept running toward the voice.

Soon, a massive white building came into view across the languid city street. Its entrance was decorated with stylized glass windows and soaring arches, white steps leading up to multiple sets of double doors. Inside the building, mixing with the singing, Saya could now hear screams and roars.

She ran into the building, hoping against hope that the creatures would not pursue her inside but feeling drawn to the song, which was now nearly deafening. She sprinted through the lobby, threw open the doors to the theater, and stepped inside, closing them behind her.

The woman’s singing abruptly stopped, replaced by the gentle song of a stringed instrument. 

_Violin? No, too low-pitched. A cello. Who’s playing a cello in here?_

As Saya’s eyes adjusted, she saw a single person sitting on the stage in a simple wooden chair and playing a cello. The man was pale, with black hair and blue eyes. His right hand was wrapped in bandages, but it didn’t seem to impact his playing. She continued to examine the cellist, noticing his old-fashioned suit and ponytail tied with a length of blue ribbon. He was beautiful, and… familiar.

She sighed as she watched him play, and he stopped immediately. He glanced up, eyes sunken and flat, and they made contact with hers. She felt the ground shake, heard the sounds of concrete crumbling and falling to the ground. As she watched, he put the cello away and stood. He held one bandaged hand out to her, then spoke.

“I will always love you, Saya.”

Saya was thrown to the ground by the violent shaking of the building around her, but her eyes stayed locked on the strange man on the stage. She watched as one huge chunk of rubble fell, crushing the man. She screamed an unfamiliar name:

“HAGI!”

She awoke suddenly, yelling the name again and sitting bolt upright in bed. She felt the damp of sweat matting her hair to her forehead, and frantically looked around the room. She was in her bedroom, upstairs of Omoro. She was safe. As she breathed, sitting back against the wall, she heard a gentle knock at the door. She sighed, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Whoever that is, come on in.”

Kai, dressed in a loose white shirt and shorts, stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He looked around the room slowly, then centered his eyes on Saya.

“Hey, sis. Was it the dream again?”

“...Yeah. I’m sorry for waking you up, Kai.”

“No worries, Saya. Say, do you remember any of it this time?”

“No, I can't remember a thing. Just a bad feeling.”

Kai nodded, and sat down on the bed. Saya leaned against him as he put an arm around her shoulders. They sat there a moment, enjoying the comfort of another person’s touch, before Kai spoke.

“You know I don't mind coming to check on you, but you should really talk to someone about this.”

"What would I talk about? I can't remember a thing."

"...Good point."

They sat for awhile longer, talking quietly about nothing in particular, until Saya’s eyes began to droop. Kai, noticing that she was ready to sleep again, tucked her in and left the room, closing the door. Saya was back to sleep again in moments, and this time her sleep was not disturbed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Kanade, maybe you should slow down?” Saya said, gripping the handle above the passenger side door in the gray sedan. She and Hibiki made eye contact, the former terrified and the latter resigned to their shared fate.

“Saya, what are you so worried about? It’s not like a car crash could…” she trailed off, realizing her mistake. “Nevermind, I’ll slow down.”

Saya, eyes wide and fixed on the road ahead, didn’t notice the strange conversational about-face and sighed with relief as the speedometer began to sink back into a normal range. Hibiki glared at her sister through the rear-view mirror, annoyed at the lapse in judgement. Kanade made brief eye contact and shrugged, as if to say “Well, she didn’t notice, so everything’s fine.”

Saya had come downstairs this morning, still blinking off sleep, and had been faced with the fully-dressed twins wearing matching grins. They had informed her, in no uncertain terms, that her wardrobe was horrifically out of date and needed refreshing. They were taking her to the american mall, their treat. 

She’d stammered out a half-hearted excuse, having not yet had breakfast, and they had handed her bread, a boiled egg, and a thermos full of kombu broth. Still trying to get her bearings, she had been dragged into the family car, buckled in, and whisked away.

As the now peaceful drive progressed, Saya looked out the window and sighed. They were driving along the western coast of the island, occasionally getting long views of the ocean and gorgeous beaches. She found herself trying to recall last night’s dreams, feeling as though she had lost something important. She had a vague recollection of soaring skyscrapers and faceless pedestrians, but that was all. Gathering up her nerve, she asked a question.

“Hey, this might sound weird, but have I ever been to a big city? I had a dream last night and parts of it felt weirdly familiar.”

Still looking out the window, eyes locked on the glittering waves, Saya didn’t see the twins’ eyes meet again in the mirror. They held eye contact for several seconds before Hibiki spoke:

“Um, maybe? We weren’t really around for much of your life before the accident, so we wouldn’t be the best ones to ask…”

“Maybe Kai would know. But he wouldn’t tell me. ‘It’s best if you remember things on your own,’ blah blah blah.” She spoke in a gruff monotone, mocking her older brother, and all three women laughed at the impression.

They made small talk, commenting on various road features as they drove past, finally arriving at the Mihama American Village for their day of shopping.

As she climbed out of the passenger seat and into the sun, Saya registered the sound of screaming thrill-seekers, the smells of a burger stand, and the sight of dozens of brightly-colored shopfronts full of delighted tourists.

She stepped forward but stopped as she felt, then saw, a pair of sunglasses drop down over her face. She looked behind her and saw her nieces wearing matching pairs of their own. They grinned, took one of her arms each, and marched toward the nearest Boutique store.

Kanade waded out into the racks and came back with a strange yellow garment, holding it up for inspection. “C’mon, Saya, check out this romper! It would look great on you.”

“Kanade, I don’t care what you call that thing, it’s a jumpsuit,” Saya said, laughing.

HIbiki piped up, playing the role of negotiator. “Aunt Saya, at least try it on. They’ve been in fashion for _years_ now.”

“Fine! But only if you both try on _that_!” Saya pointed to the wall, where an over-the-top, frilly pink dress was on display.

The women sighed, looking for all the world like petulant teenagers, and agreed to her terms. An hour later, the three walked out of the shop laughing, arms piled with garment bags. Kanade, much to her shame, was carrying the ridiculous pink dress.

As the three stepped back onto the main causeway, resolving to leave their bags at the car before walking into another clothing store, Saya once again noticed the rich, fatty smell of burgers frying on an open grill. She ran forward, delighted by the prospect of food, and left her nieces behind looking bemused.

She approached the stand, hearing the telltale sizzling of meat, and ordered a cheeseburger with fries. As her nieces caught up and placed their own orders, she found a nearby table where they could eat. She sat down at the table, glancing around at the nearby shop windows. 

She saw a colorful candy store, a few more boutiques, and one of the ubiquitous “tourist crap” shops that dotted the most-frequented areas of the island. Her eyes settled on a display in a cute little antique store’s window, unsure at first what had drawn her eye, until she spotted a large stringed instrument.

She stared at the cello, recognizing every last feature as only a player of the instrument ever could. She examined it from scroll to neck, tailpiece to end pin, in awe of its subtle shine and charm. Saya held a hand out, nearly touching the glass, and felt a presence directly behind her left shoulder. She spoke to the person behind her as if in a trance.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it-” She turned around to address them, but when she turned there was nobody there. She looked around for a moment, confused, and eventually sighted her nieces sitting at the table and waving to her. She blushed, the strange presence forgotten, and made her way back to the table. As she walked back, Hibiki and Kanade exchanged another glance filled with concern.

Saya sat down, still unsure what had just happened. She stared in the direction of the shop, lost in thought. Why did she know so much about that cello? Had she played one before losing her memory? She came back to reality a little when Kanade snapped a finger in her face, clearly losing patience with her distant aunt.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“Jeez, Saya, what’s going on with you? We’ve been trying to get your attention for a full minute.”

“I don’t know… Did Kai ever mention me playing an instrument?”

Kanade paled, looking to her sister for guidance. Hibiki spoke up cautiously.

“I think he might have, Saya, but I don’t really remember the details. Did you remember something?”

“I don’t really know… I feel like I know something, but it’s just out of reach.”

Kanade and Hibiki laughed the question off, downplaying its importance, and tried to distract Saya with more shopping once the first round of bags had been deposited in the trunk of the car. However, no matter how they tried to coax some more smiles and excitement out of Saya, she remained quiet and listless for the rest of the shopping trip. The drive home was made in silence, Hibiki and Kanade resorting to the unique mental channel of communication reserved for Queens and Chevaliers.

 _Do you think she’s remembering him? You know, her old Chevalier?_ Hibki asked her sister.

_I don’t know. She did play the cello back in France, according to the Diary. But I don’t know… She seems so sad now._

_We need to tell Kai about this. Maybe she’s starting to remember even without the blood of awakening._

_I guess… That shouldn’t be possible, though._

Hibiki shrugged slightly at her sister, then continued the drive in silence. The three women eventually arrived at Omoro after dark, and Saya hauled her finds for the day upstairs with unfocused eyes. Once she got settled in upstairs, she dressed for bed and fell asleep almost right away, uncharacteristically exhausted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kai was washing dishes in the back, scrubbing with soapy water, distracted. He had been tending bar the previous night when Saya and the girls had come home, his amnesiac sister ghosting past him and up the stairs with barely a word. Kanade and Hibiki had waited until they were sure Saya’s door was closed before pulling Kai aside to have a word with him.

They had given him a summary of the day’s outing, starting with the cheerful car ride and clothes shopping, then reached the real topic of discussion: Saya’s strange behavior. As they described her reaction to the cello in the shop window, Kai’s eyes narrowed.

“And you’re sure she was looking at the cello?”

“Positive, dad. As soon as she laid eyes on the thing it was like she just shut down.” Hibiki sighed, before Kanade piped up.

“Dad, are you sure she couldn’t be starting to remember?”

“I don't know about _sure_ , but Doctor Julia thinks so and she’s always been right before.” Kai sighed, and continued. “Thanks for letting me know, and let’s all keep an eye on her.”

Kanade nodded to him, then turned to her twin sister. Blue eyes met unsteady red, and she turned back to Kai and asked another question.

“Dad… Are you sure he’s really gone? The man from the Diary, her servant?”

Kai chuckles. “He was more than a servant, but no. I was never sure about much when it came to that guy... I used to think he was the one leaving those roses by the tomb, you know.” He frowns, thinking back.

“To be honest, I still don’t know who it could have been. But there’s no way Hagi wouldn’t have come to be with Saya by now.”

“But what if he came to find her in secret, like last time?”

“You can ask her, but I don’t think you’ll have any luck. Besides, if Hagi had found her, she’d start getting her memories back. Not this mopey half-remembered nonsense.”

Satisfied, the girls had gone upstairs to put away the day’s finds in their bedrooms. Kai was left to tend the bar for the evening, mulling over the discussion alone. Was it possible that Saya was starting to remember something after all? He’d have to ask Julia next time she called to ask after his sister.

As he rinsed a plate for the fifth time, still lost in thought, Kai heard the bell on the front door ring. Saya, bussing tables in the next room over after the lunch rush, suddenly spoke.

“Oh! Mister David, it’s good to see you again! Are you here to talk to my brother?”

David, gray-haired and worn from years of stress, answered with a tight smile.

“Saya. It’s good to see you, too- where is Kai?”

“Just through here, in the kitchen. KAI!”

Kai stuck his head out of the kitchen door, grinning, and called to the man. 

“Come on back, David. I’m just washing up.”

David nodded to Saya, then strode through the kitchen door and closed it firmly behind him. He turned to Kai, sighing, and spoke.

“Kai, we’ve got a problem.”

Kai crossed his arms, leaning back against the industrial sink, and looked David square in the eyes. They had served together for years in Red Shield during the war, and had remained close in the intervening years. Familiar as he was with David’s mannerisms, what he saw scared him. His friend, who had faced down Chiropterans and bombings with equal poise, was worried. Kai remained silent as David pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and handed it to Kai.

“Watch.”

The phone was playing a grainy, black-and white photo from some sort of surveillance camera in the woods. Centered on the screen was a large concrete domed structure resembling a huge gray igloo. For a few seconds, the trees in the shot swayed in the wind and Kai wondered what he was supposed to be looking for.

Suddenly, though, the top of the dome filled with cracks. They spread from the center, flowing down from the apex of the igloo, and then shards of concrete blew out from it. A black shape, blurring with speed, shot out of the resulting hole and was offscreen almost instantly.

David reached over, turned the video back ten seconds, and hit pause. Kai leaned in close, putting the screen right in front of his face, and gasped when the image came fully into focus.

“Is that…”

“Yes. Chevalier.”

Kai stared at the image wordlessly, taking in the features. Batlike wings, leathery skin, inhuman proportions… This was a Chiropteran. Not a standard D-67 victim, either, the real deal: a full-blooded Chevalier. As far as he knew, the last of them had been killed thirty years ago. He finally gathered up enough composure to speak.

“Where is this?”

David maintained steady eye contact as he answered. “Seneca Army Depot, in upstate New York. Two-hundred and fifty miles from the incident at the Met. After the government covered the whole thing up, claiming the explosions were the work of terrorists, most of the debris was carted up to this supposedly inactive facility and sealed away in these concrete structures.”

He sighed, and continued. “We’ve been keeping the site under surveillance as a measure of caution, as we believe that most of Diva’s remains were mixed into the rubble during the bombings. It’s lucky that we were able to get this footage.”

“What does this mean for Saya? Are you going to try to drag her into this?”

“There’s no need. HIbiki and Kanade are being called into HQ as we speak and will be sent to the US to pick up the trail of our mysterious Chevalier. For all we know, it could be Amshel or Nathan.”

“Or…” Kai started, before David cut him off.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Kai. Not long after we got the upload of that footage, we received reports of several men admitted to a local hospital with puncture wounds and severe hypovolemic shock. Textbook Chiropteran attack, and we’re still not sure if they’ll pull through. He would never do something like that.”

Kai hung his head, disappointed. Hagi’s reappearance would solve so many of his problems, but it did seem pretty unlikely that the placid Chevalier would attack humans.

“So what do you need me to do?”

“Just keep a close eye on Saya until we’ve got a better idea of what’s going on. I’ll keep you up to date as soon as the girls find anything.”

Kai nodded, then absentmindedly went back to scrubbing dishes in the sink. David stood for a moment, silent, then spoke.

“Is she doing alright?”

Kai put a mug down, and said, “I don’t know, man. She seems fine one second and completely distant the next. It’s like she’s not all there, you know? And I don’t just mean the amnesia. Sometimes I catch her just staring into space.”

David nodded. “Julia says she may be suffering from post-traumatic stress. Something about memories not affecting the physical ways that trauma changes the structure of the brain. We just need to give her time and support.”

Kai nodded, staring at the wall dividing the restaurant from the kitchen, as though he could see Saya right through it.

“I just want my sister back, you know?”

“I know, Kai, but you just have to be patient. If there’s a way to get her memories back, I’m sure my wife will find it.”

“Yeah.”

David, message delivered and sensing that Kai wanted to be left alone, put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. He held it there for a moment, then walked out of the kitchen without another word. He strode out of the restaurant, nodding a curt goodbye to Saya and pulling the door closed behind him.

Kai stared at the kitchen door for a long moment, then returned to his dishes. Try as he might, the memories came flooding back. Chevaliers. Innocent people, drained of blood. Riku. His hands shook, throwing soapy water everywhere. _Shit. SHIT._

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love some feedback so I can keep improving and adding new work to this fandom!


End file.
